England 31 Argentina 12: Wood: We will have to step it up to beat All Blacks

Tom Wood has demanded England earn regular victories over New Zealand to demonstrate his belief they are narrowing the gap on the world champions.
England's Tom Wood wins a lineout against ArgentinaEngland's Tom Wood wins a lineout against Argentina
England's Tom Wood wins a lineout against Argentina

The All Blacks enter Saturday’s QBE International intent on avenging last year’s record 38-21 defeat at Twickenham, their only loss in 33 matches dating back to August 2011.

Victories over Australia and Argentina have put England on the brink of a triumphant clean sweep this autumn and despite some alarming flaws in their performances, they have developed a winning habit.

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World champions New Zealand offer the ultimate benchmark of progress and Wood insists scalping the All Blacks must become a regular occurrence.

“We want to get to the position where we don’t declare national holidays every time we beat them. We want it to be a regular occurrence,” the Northampton flanker said.

“We want it to be a level playing field. We want to be considered their equals or better than them. We want it to be that when anyone comes to Twickenham, they are underdogs, not us.

“You have got to hand it to the All Blacks – they are still the benchmark in world rugby. They have got threats all over the park and strength in depth, but we are getting there.

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“I’m not going to make wild statements about us being better than the All Blacks. We have still got a point to prove.

“We have still got to back it up week in, week out. But I definitely think we are going in the right direction and developing something with a bit more substance and sustainability.”

Facing New Zealand is a test of mental strength much as physical, but England succeeded in mystifying the world’s outstanding team in their own minds last December.

It was one of the great moments in the nation’s rugby history, produced on the back of a fearless mindset that pierced the aura of invincibility that shrouds the All Blacks.

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“There is a psychological aspect to playing New Zealand because everyone puts them on a pedestal,” Wood said.

“A lot of teams are beaten before they go into the game because they expect the All Blacks to win. Everyone does. That is what we got right last year and what we have got to re-create this year.

“You could argue that they were complacent last year or at the end of a long season. There will be none of that this year.

“They will be looking to right some wrongs. This will be the game that matters.”

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Wood, who started last December’s rout at blindside flanker, enjoyed a spell at North Otago in 2006.

“I don’t claim to be some sort of expert on New Zealand rugby but having lived there and played against some of those characters, it does demystify them,” he said.

“It brings them down to earth in your mind and makes you see them as only human. That was a phrase I used last year.

“We were not going to get caught up in the whole aura of the All Blacks.

“We are going to treat them like anybody else.

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“Yes, we are going to have to be at our best because they are a very good side. But that is all they are.

“But the All Blacks coming to Twickenham, we are under no illusions what they means. We are going to have to be absolutely full-on.”

Coach Stuart Lancaster accepts England must produce a substantial improvement if they are topple New Zealand.

Victories over Australia and Argentina have placed England one triumph away from a clean sweep this autumn, but a dismal second half in the 31-12 win against the Pumas has set alarm bells ringing.

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“We need to work on our accuracy to get that 80-minute performance because to beat the best team in the world, which is what we’re facing, we need to be at that level,” Lancaster said.

“We need to go up a couple of notches, definitely. We’ve had a good look at New Zealand during the Rugby Championship.

“If you slip an inch against them, they take it, so we’ll have to be at our best.”

England finished strongly against Australia and made a fine start against Argentina, but on both occasions their performance fluctuated wildly.

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“There was a lot of intent and accuracy in the first half, but Argentina upped their game and put us under pressure, while we became impatient,” Lancaster said.

“We tried to force the game instead of continuing to build the score.

“If you said before the game we’d win 31-12, when I look at some of their performances in the Rugby Championship then I would have taken that

“When you have a young side of 200 or so caps (287 caps), sometimes you need to go through these experiences to learn

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“We’ve certainly learnt a lot on the previous week against Australia.

“We’ll have learnt more from this game and hopefully it will stand us in good stead against New Zealand.”

England: Brown (Goode 75), Ashton, Tomkins, Twelvetrees (Flood 62), Foden, Farrell, Dickson (Care 52), Marler, Hartley, Wilson, Launchbury, Lawes (Parling 56), Wood, Robshaw, Billy Vunipola (Morgan 56). Not used: Tom Youngs, Corbisiero, Cole.

Argentina: Gonzalez Amorosino, Agulla, Bosch, Fernandez, Imhoff (Cordero 31), Sanchez (Tiesi 64), Cubelli (Landajo 63), Ayerza, Guinazu, Bustos (Orlandi 66), Galarza (Carizza 55), Albacete, Matera, Farias Cabello, Leguizamon. Not used: Iglesias, Lobo, Macome.

Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France).

Hero Hartley’s hoping to have hooked a start

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England hooker Dylan Hartley hopes he has made a convincing claim to celebrating the 50th cap milestone by starting against a New Zealand team chasing “payback”.

A 31-12 victory over Argentina registered a ninth win in 10 matches and extended the triumphant run at Twickenham to six games, but once again the performance was unsatisfying.

Hartley’s man-of-the-match shift was the high point of the afternoon and having displaced rival Tom Youngs to the bench, the Northampton front row believes he has argued a strong case to keep him there.

“I enjoyed the game. It was good to be back and to contribute to a good first-half forward performance was satisfying,” he said.

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“At the end of the tunnel I knew there was a starting place against the All Blacks available, but I didn’t want to get too caught up in that.

“It was more about doing my job in the team and I think I did that. I know why I’m in the team and why I was given the opportunity. I like to think I’ve made the most of it.

“The coaches talk to me about the energy and leadership I bring, and the form I’ve had building into the campaign.”

Tries from Joe Launchbury, Billy Twelvetrees and Chris Ashton rewarded a purposeful first half that propelled England 24-6 ahead.

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A bored Twickenham lapsed into silence in the second half, however, as England lost their way and allowed Argentina back into the match, with only a late try by substitute Ben Morgan, improved by Toby Flood.

“The first half was us bursting out of the blocks because we couldn’t ease into the game, if we did that Argentina would have gained a foothold,” Hartley said.

“They’re the sort of team that won’t go away, so 24-6 at half time is perfect.

“Then it wasn’t a lack of intensity from us, more that a proud rugby team like Argentina chanced their arm because they’re 24-6 down.

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“Let’s focus on the positives of the second half – we closed the game out and kept knocking them back with our defence.”

New Zealand were routed 38-21 at Twickenham last December and Hartley knows only the perfect performance will be enough to subdue the world champions.

“The All Blacks have been fantastic on recent form and come here with a big number one badge on,” he said.

“There’s no doubt they’ll want revenge. They’re a proud nation and a proud team and will be looking for payback.

“We’ll have to be up for it and play the perfect game - for the whole game.”